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As Airlines Get $1.2B in Bag Fees, Airports Ask ‘What About Us?’

U.S. passenger airlines saw
their fifth straight quarter of increasing revenue from baggage fees,
collecting $1.2 billion in the second quarter of 2017, according to new data
from the Department of Transportation. Now airports are asking: What about us?

The American Association of
Airport Executives (AAAE) called on airports to support an increase in the
passenger facility charge (PFC), which airports use to fund projects that
enhance security, increase capacity, and reduce noise, among other
improvements.

Airlines are required under
federal law to charge passengers a fee with every ticket; those fees are passed
through to airports for projects approved by DOT. The PFC rate has been
set at $4.50 per flight segment with a maximum of two PFCs charged on a one-way
trip since 2000.

“Why do airlines think a bag
fee is good and an airport facility fee is bad? Because one goes in their
pocket and the other builds facilities that can increase competition, resulting
in lower fares,” AAAE President and CEO Todd Hauptli said in a press release.

Airports received just shy of
$3.2 billion in PFC funds in 2016, which AAAE notes is less than what airports
have already collected in baggage fees in the first half of2017.

Airlines spoke against a
proposal by Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine) in the Transportation, Housing and
Urban Development Appropriations bill to allow for a new cap of $8.50 on PFC
charges.

Congress should instead dip
into tax revenue in the aviation trust fund instead, said Airlines for America,
an industry group representing the nation’s biggest commercial airlines. A PFC
increase is a “completely unnecessary poke in the eye and wallet of air
travelers,” A4A President and CEO Nicholas Calio said about Collins’ proposal.

The PFC increase passed both
the subcommittee and full committee in the Senate.

Collins is optimistic an
increase will be passed with the THUD appropriations bill, she told reporters.

“There has been very strong
support from airports citing their infrastructure needs and there was no
objection in committee,” Collins said.

“It may be that it’s too high
and I’m certainly willing to take a look at that,” she said about the increase
to $8.50.

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